Game Thread - Wizard vs Thunder Mon 7PM 3/14

[tontoz]

Game wasn't much fun once they took their stars out, but through 3 quarters, it was one of the most entertaining blowouts I've seen. Our players were playing nasty. Wall, Crawford, and Booker, though they were making mistakes, were digging the **** in. Love it.

IMO booker can be a starter on a good team but he's gotta be the 4th or 5th option with two stars around him. For example, I think he could start with Ibaka on OKC and they'd be fine. He does the little things, he can defend almost all positions, and he can pass the ball.

I said it before and I imagine I will keep saying it, but I like Jordan over Nick. Jordan's got some nasty, can pass the ball, plays some serious D, and can board in traffic. Keep the baller on the rookie contract, dump the one trick pony in his contract year.

On the season Jordan is shooting 36% from the field and 22% from 3. That would certainly fit in on a team that can't shoot.

[willbcocks]

The sample size is too small and he hasn't had an offseason yet. Also, he was an efficient shooter in college. He looks like a gym rat to me, so I think he'll become respectable given time and an NBA shooting coach. He won't become the shooter Nick is, but I have my doubts about how well Nick could play in a good offense.

Also, yeah this team doesn't have shooters, but it doesn't have passers, rebounders, and defenders either. Crawford's better at all these things than Nick. And I like the chemistry with Wall.

[Jay81]

i disagree that it takes longer to rebuild a hockey than a basketball team

[tontoz]

The sample size is too small and he hasn't had an offseason yet. Also, he was an efficient shooter in college. He looks like a gym rat to me, so I think he'll become respectable given time and an NBA shooting coach. He won't become the shooter Nick is, but I have my doubts about how well Nick could play in a good offense.

Also, yeah this team doesn't have shooters, but it doesn't have passers, rebounders, and defenders either. Crawford's better at all these things than Nick. And I like the chemistry with Wall.

The problem is that Crawford plays shooting guard, not rebounding guard. Having a shooting guard that can't shoot playing next to a pg that can't shoot isn't going to work.

I am not seeing this chemistry you are talking about. Looks to me like teams are just packing the lane making it tougher for Wall to get to the rim and finish. Over the last 5 games, all of which Jordan has played big minutes, Wall is shooting 38% same as Crawford. That isn't what i call good chemistry.


And how exactly do you come to the conclusion that Crawford is a better defender than Nick?

[Jay81]

vrawford is not a better player than Nick Young. He looks flashier which "makes" him look better but flash isnt what we need

[nate33]

The problem is that Crawford plays shooting guard, not rebounding guard. Having a shooting guard that can't shoot playing next to a pg that can't shoot isn't going to work.

I am not seeing this chemistry you are talking about. Looks to me like teams are just packing the lane making it tougher for Wall to get to the rim and finish. Over the last 5 games, all of which Jordan has played big minutes, Wall is shooting 38% same as Crawford. That isn't what i call good chemistry.


And how exactly do you come to the conclusion that Crawford is a better defender than Nick?

This is a great point and one that is consistently overlooked when we evaluate Young. Young can shoot really, really well. You can't just pooh-pooh that and say, "sure, but Crawford rebounds better". Shooting is the single most important thing in basketball - particularly for a shooting guard. It makes life so much easier for the rest of the team. If you have a swingman who is a deadeye shooter and a good defender, you count your blessings. You don't whine that he averages 3 boards a game instead of 4.

By the way, the same applies at PF. You can't just throw in too non-shooting thugs at PF and C and expect the offense to run well. One of the bigs must be able to hit a 17-footer.

[willbcocks]

Ok, so it's a choice between a shooting guard who can't shoot (but could in college and is a rookie with very few minutes) and a swingman who can't swing the ball (and never has been able to). I'm not just talking about rebounding--I'm talking about passing and playmaking, both of which Crawford, 300 minutes or whatever into his rookie season, already is better than young.

Why is crawford a better defender? Well, he's a better rebounder first of all. He forces more turnovers. And he plays tougher and bigger. Perhaps it's a bit of projection, but I see in Crawford a lot of the same defensive potential I see in Wall.

I don't see how Crawford is flash in the analogy when we are comparing him to throw up crazy shots outside the offense but not contribute anything else Nick Young. Crawford does seem to have a little too much street in his game, but he's a rookie.

Anyway, at the end of the day, it's about the player versus financial flexibility. Say Nick gets an MLE offer. Before we had Crawford I was leaning towards keeping young. Now I let him walk. That's too much money to pay a guy I don't think is a winner.

ETA: Also, I am making the assumption that Wall can shoot in 2 years. Maybe this is too much, but if he can't, we're f'ed no matter what we do.

[tontoz]

Ok, so it's a choice between a shooting guard who can't shoot (but could in college and is a rookie with very few minutes) and a swingman who can't swing the ball (and never has been able to). I'm not just talking about rebounding--I'm talking about passing and playmaking, both of which Crawford, 300 minutes or whatever into his rookie season, already is better than young.

Why is crawford a better defender? Well, he's a better rebounder first of all. He forces more turnovers. And he plays tougher and bigger. Perhaps it's a bit of projection, but I see in Crawford a lot of the same defensive potential I see in Wall.

I don't see how Crawford is flash in the analogy when we are comparing him to throw up crazy shots outside the offense but not contribute anything else Nick Young. Crawford does seem to have a little too much street in his game, but he's a rookie.

Anyway, at the end of the day, it's about the player versus financial flexibility. Say Nick gets an MLE offer. Before we had Crawford I was leaning towards keeping young. Now I let him walk. That's too much money to pay a guy I don't think is a winner.

ETA: Also, I am making the assumption that Wall can shoot in 2 years. Maybe this is too much, but if he can't, we're f'ed no matter what we do.

No you are assuming that Wall and Crawford will make huge improvements in their jumpers. They could improve substantially on their jumpers and still be bad. Both guys have EFG% under 30% on jumpers. Nick is 20% higher.

Crawford averages .36 more defensive rebounds than Nick per 36 minutes. Yawn

Nick hasn't gotten abused by anyone all year. When you consider the guys he has defended that speaks pretty highly to his defense. Crawford hasn't played much other than garbage time. Let's see how he defends against other teams starters in a tight game before we start touting his defense.

[nate33]

The thing about Crawford is that he might pan out to be a serviceable combo guard who can handle PG duties. If that's the case, then we keep them both!

I still strongly advocate keeping Young. I'm actually kind of happy that he's nicked up right now and it's hurting his performance. If his efficiency numbers continue to decline, it'll scare away potential suitors.

We have $12M in cap room this year and not much to spend it on. I don't know if more BOYD trades make sense since we already have nine guys who we are trying to develop (#3, #20, #33, Wall, Crawford, Booker, Seraphin, McGee and N'Diaye) not to mention Blatche who is still relatively young (though at least he's past the remedial stage). Therefore, the best thing we can do with that cap room is to sign a young free agent, or resign Young. Either way, I say we do it Nick Collison style so that our future cap hit is minimal.

If we can acquire a better fit than Nick Young via free agency, I'm all ears. But I think Young will probably end up being the best value for the money because we already know he's a good fit at a position of need and his RFA rights will scare others away.

[fishercob]

That Kevin Durant is one sub-par NBA athlete.

[tontoz]

That Kevin Durant is one sub-par NBA athlete.

Correct, which is why OKC gives up 8 more ppg when he is playing. He can't guard wing players because he lacks athleticism.

Scoring ability does not equate to athleticism. Dirk averages the same number of points as Dwight Howard. Does that make him as good an athlete as Dwight?

[The Consiglieri]

i disagree that it takes longer to rebuild a hockey than a basketball team

If someone said that, they were probably referencing the fact that the bulk (90-95%) of NHL draftees take at least 2-3 years to make the big club. The transition from juniors to the minors to the big leagues is a long journey for hockey players it is rare that you have a Sidney, or Alex who can make it as an 18 year old, nearly as rare as it is in baseball, though not quite.

[fishercob]

That Kevin Durant is one sub-par NBA athlete.

Correct, which is why OKC gives up 8 more ppg when he is playing. He can't guard wing players because he lacks athleticism.

Scoring ability does not equate to athleticism. Dirk averages the same number of points as Dwight Howard. Does that make him as good an athlete as Dwight?

Who said it does? But the implication that Durant's scoring acumen is in no way related to his athleticism is completely absurd.

[tontoz]

That Kevin Durant is one sub-par NBA athlete.

Correct, which is why OKC gives up 8 more ppg when he is playing. He can't guard wing players because he lacks athleticism.

Scoring ability does not equate to athleticism. Dirk averages the same number of points as Dwight Howard. Does that make him as good an athlete as Dwight?

Who said it does? But the implication that Durant's scoring acumen is in no way related to his athleticism is completely absurd.

So what specifically makes Durant an above average athlete in the NBA. Is it his blinding lateral quickness? His Shelden-like vertical? His chiseled physique?